CHAPTER NINE
- Tallulah -
I’ve no clue how long we sit huddled up together before Quimby unexpectedly laughs.
Confused by his weird reaction, I poke at him. “What are you giggly at, doofus?”
“Did you not hear our mum sneak down the hallway? She sounds like a stampede of elephants.”
The door opens, and we all look up. Rosalina’s head cautiously pokes around the gap in the door. Her eyes scan the room before she finally settles on us. Surprise flickers across her face for a brief moment, and I wonder if she knew this was going to happen when I left the office. “Hey, guys, happy to see the place is still in one piece, and I’m glad you’ve finally settled on telling Tallulah.”
Kenji winks at me and calls over his shoulder, “Come on, Ma, I believed you had more faith in Tally than that. She’s a little hellion, but I don’t think she’d actually trash the joint.”
“Hey!” I shove at his shoulder. “If I remember correctly, it was you who broke the blue vase when we were little.”
Rosalina gasps, and I’m surprised it sounds so close. Glancing up, I realise she moved farther into the room. “I knew it was one of you who broke it, I just couldn’t prove it. Your fathers told me the vase disappeared long before then.”
Kenji grabs my sides and tickles. When I attempt to squirm away, Theo and Quimby grin mischievously and hold me still while Kenji attacks.
Laughing, I shout. “Enough, enough!”
His voice full of innocence, “It might’ve been me who broke it, but it was Theo who buried the evidence in the vegetable garden. Dads are also the ones who went down there a few days later to dig the thing back up to dispose of properly.”
I barely hear her mutter under her breath, “They have another think coming if they still expect a reward later.”
“Mum!” Horrified, Quimby’s nose scrunches up like he smelled something bad.
She waves off his horror. “Don’t be such a sissy, Quimby, you have your own mate now.”
Did she just refer to sex? Oh, god. I drop my head onto Theo’s shoulder to hide my mortification.
Theo must sense my discomfort because he wraps his arms around me and smoothly changes the subject. “Would you like to watch a film?”
I mumble awkwardly into his shoulder. “I’d like to head to bed for a little while, if it’s okay.”
All three of them share a look of disappointment, but don’t try to change my mind. Before I can stand, the guys surprise a laugh out of me as all three of them offer a hand to help me up. Theo chuckles and takes one hand, Quimby takes the other, while Kenji gently takes hold of my waist.
Every one of their touches causes tingles to shoot through my body. Theo’s, Quimby’s, and Kenji’s hands on me at one time causes some delicious shivers to play along my nerves. It’s definitely time to get out of here before I embarrass myself by acting a fool. Especially since their mother’s in the room.
Once I’m steady on my feet and the danger of wobbling and landing on my face is over, I expect them to release me, only they don’t. Instead, Kenji wraps one arm around my back and the other under my backside and hoists me up. Quimby and Theo both raise my hands and kiss my palms before they let go.
The arm around my back tightens a fraction until my body presses firmly against him. Barely able to stifle the groan that wants to escape, I press my face tightly against Kenji’s neck. An unfamiliar touch lands on my back causing me to flinch. Quickly, I bring my head up and almost catch Kenji on the chin.
Rosalina stands slightly to the side of Theo. It’s her hand I felt on my back. She smiles kindly at me and brushes my hair back. “Sweet dreams, honey.”
“Night,” I offer a shy smile in return.
Kenji carries me down the hallway towards the guest bedroom. Once outside the closed bedroom door, I feel him hesitate. I lean my head back, make eye contact, and raise my eyebrows, silently asking him what is wrong.
“I-I um… We…” Firmly pressing his lips together, he sighs in frustration. “When we knew you were our mate, the guest bedroom became your room. Obviously, we already knew your favourite colour and stuff, so…” he trails off.
We’ve dealt with enough turmoil already today, and I don’t want to be the cause of any more. Cautiously, I reach up until my hand gently touches his cheek and offer him, what I hope, is a gentle smile. “Will you show me? Please.”
He smiles shyly at me and leans his head forward. For a second, I hold my breath with the guess he’s about to kiss me. Instead, he places his cheek against mine. For the few moments his cheek is pressed to mine, I breathe in his smell and enjoy the slight stubble on his jaw against my own. Then the arm he used to support my back loosens slightly until he can reach the door handle.
Behind me, the door creaks softly before it opens all the way. Instead of peeking, I watch Kenji’s face closely. He secures his hold on me again, so I’m tucked tightly against him. His chest brushes firmly against my own when he takes a deep breath and holds it while he steps into the room. I can tell he’s nervous, but don’t understand why.
Finally, I drag my eyes away from his worried face and take a good look around the room. The main wall is purple with the surrounding walls a warm cream colour. A huge bed up against the purple wall has a large purple bedspread on it, almost the same as the one I have at home. Various sized purple and cream cushions are scattered on top. It gives the room a look of what I imagine a fancy hotel might be like.
“It’s beautiful.” At my words, his chest deflates as he releases the breath he held while I inspected the room, no longer nervous about my reaction.
My eyes catch on a huge collage of pictures in one big frame above the dresser, and I gasp. His body becomes rock hard under my fingers from sudden tension. Kenji must sense what caught my attention. He stalls for a second, but then cautiously walks us closer to the pictures.
I spot a photo of the four of us from when we were two years old and Theo six. Theo sits in the middle with a twin on each side of him, I’m snuggled up on his lap. The children in the picture have got huge toothy grins on their faces. A lump forms in my throat as I begin to recognise some of the other pictures. All of them are taken after that summer. I’m in every single one of them, but doing all different types of stuff, training with the guests, jumping around the obstacle course Dad made for me.
My eyes fill with tears when I see a particular picture. I’m perched on one of the huge boulders in the forest. My arms are loosely wrapped around my legs, and my chin is set atop my knees. I was around the age of nine. I’d done a dangerous move on the obstacle course, and Dad had caught me. I ended up in a really nasty fight with him over it. Afterwards, he grabbed an axe and broke the part I’d done the silly stunt off.
In many of the photos, I didn’t know there was a camera there. I bite my lip to force the tears back. It’s then I realise, instead of gazing at the pictures with me, Kenji openly watched me the whole time.
Not needing to feign tiredness, I attempt to clear the roughness from my throat. “I should get some sleep.”
He rubs his hand up and down my back and the tingles reignite across my body. “Are you all right, darling?”
So he doesn’t pity me, I force my voice to sound more chipper, “I’m fine, honestly. Today’s been hectic, and I’m likely overtired.”
I can tell he doesn’t believe me, but I don’t have the energy to reassure him. He seems to realise I don’t intend to explain further because he walks over to the bed. Gently, he lowers me until I sit on top of the soft blankets. After he releases me, he leans forward slightly and places his hands on either side of my hips. His body crowds my space and effectively blocks me from any escape.
“I understand it’s been a big day for you, but please don’t forget we’re here for you. Whatever’s bothering you… We want to help. We’ll give you tonight, but please don’t shut us out.” Emotion thickens his voice, and his eyes swim with unshed tears.
My heart squeezes painfully at the hurt in his expression. Without any thought of the consequences, I lean forward and brush my lips lightly against his. “I promise, I just need to be alone for a while. Today’s been a lot to take in, and it’s a struggle. If I still have a tough time tomorrow, then I promise I’ll talk to you guys.”
“Okay, darling.” He smiles sweetly before he places another quick kiss on my lips, then straightens to leave. Once he reaches the door, he hesitates for a moment, indecision flashes across his face.
Breath held, I hope he’ll leave me alone for a while.
He finally huffs out, “Night,” before he steps into the hallway and shuts the door softly behind him.
As soon as the door is firmly shut, my shoulders droop, and I release the breath I held. Without anyone around, I can give up on the pretence of acting normal. Unable to stop myself from one last glance at the pictures across the room, my eyes rapidly fill with tears and spill over.
Why couldn’t they have been with me? Why did I have to go through all the hurt and heartache believing nobody wanted me? They say they want me now, but at what cost?